Consultant - Radio Dramas Series and Audio-visuals Designer - A3 SEED Project – Office of Programs

About IFDC

IFDC is a public international organization active in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, and America. IFDC uniquely approaches the global issues of food security and poverty by bridging the gap between research and impact, combining science-based innovations, holistic market systems development, an enabling policy environment, and strategic partnerships to assist farmers and countries to identify and scale sustainable agricultural solutions, including improved nutrient use efficiency. These approaches are needed to boost soil health and crop productivity while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizer use. IFDC translates research into action by using locally driven, environmentally sound, and impact-oriented solutions. With our partners, we seek to close the yield gap, eradicate global hunger, safeguard the soil on which our lives depend, and generate economic resilience for farming households and the countries in which they live.  

Position Summary

The incumbent will leverage audio-visual strategies, including radio drama series and other multimedia content, to generate demand for quality seeds among farmers and effectively market their farm produce in operational areas (Rumbek, Bor, Torit, Magwi, Yambio and in and around Juba) by influencing their behavior and decision-making processes.

Specific Objectives

1.    Develop engaging radio drama series that highlights the advantages of high-quality seeds and best practices in grain/crop produce marketing among smallholder farmers;

2.    Create educational audio-visual content that demonstrates practical steps for quality seed and/or surplus food crop production and marketing;

3.    Distribute these materials to the target audience (farmers especially women and youth, seed out growers, food crop producers in groups or cooperatives etc.); seed companies; agro dealers, food chain institutions including NGOs and local businesses or processors.

Deliverables

1. Conduct a needs assessment to understand the current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of farmers regarding high-quality seeds as well as their crop grain/produce marketing practices where necessary;
2.  Identify and understand the key barriers and motivators for adopting high-quality seeds;
3. Develop engaging and informative audio-visual content, including videos, animations, and infographics, tailored to the target audience;
4. Script and produce radio dramas that highlight the benefits of high-quality seeds and address common misconceptions as well as best grain marketing practices; 
5. Create a detailed implementation plan outlining the distribution channels for the audio-visual content and radio dramas;
6. Collaborate with local radio stations, project staff, and community groups for content dissemination;
7. Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the impact of the audio-visual strategies on farmers’ knowledge and adoption of high-quality seeds;
8. Collect and analyze data to measure the effectiveness of the interventions and make necessary adjustments.

Reporting and Work Relationships

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the consultant will work closely with the Seed Extension Manager, Agribusiness and Market Development Manager, MELS Manager, Gender and Youth Inclusion Officer of the project.

Location

This is a consultancy  with a duty station at the IFDC office based in Juba.

Consultancy duration and fees

 
This is a 30 days consultancy contract from the date of signing of the contract. The organization will pay the consolidated consultantcy fee of USD $ 6,000 for the services rendered under this consultancy.

Diversity Clause

IFDC is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, and offers equal employment opportunities based on ability, performance, and potential. Equal opportunity is integral to the recruitment and selection practices at IFDC. IFDC recognizes the value in recruiting employees with different backgrounds, knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. IFDC recognizes and values the contribution of people with a diverse background in capabilities, experience, and perspectives. Diversity encompasses gender, age, experience, education, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and cultural backgrounds as well as other dimensions such as lifestyle and family responsibilities.

About Program/Project

In South Sudan, IFDC is implementing a private led seed sector development project. The “Accelerating Agriculture and Agribusiness in South Sudan for Enhanced Economic Development Project” (A3-SEED) provides market-oriented interventions to support the establishment of a commercial, sustainable, and adaptive agriculture sector in South Sudan. The project ensures the availability of improved seed down to the last-mile through agri-entrepreneurship and supporting existing private sector seed companies to improve seed and input marketing, distribution, and production practices.  

A3-SEED seeks to reach more than 100,000 farming households, double incomes from marketable surpluses, increase farmer yields by 20-50% on target commodities (maize, sorghum, beans, cowpeas, facilitate the development of 100 agro-dealers as well as 200 women-owned and 200 youth-led businesses, and bring 42,000 ha of farmland under agroecological production. The project supports the emergence of individual commercial seed producers, who produce for the local market, as out growers for a seed company, or both. The primary purpose is to enable smallholder households to improve their food and nutrition security through productivity growth and improve resilience of communities to cope with climatic and environmental volatility.

A3SEED project is implemented by IFDC together with the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in collaboration with the national, state and county level government counterparts targeting Rumbek, Bor, Torit, Juba and Yambio hubs of stability.  A3SEED is financed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Juba, South Sudan.

Required Experience

1. At least a master’s degree qualification in any of the following areas: Agriculture, Development studies, gender, social sciences, food security and livelihoods from recognized institutions;
2. At least 5 years of experience designing and implementing behavior change communication strategies for Food Security and resilience-building initiatives. 
3. Strong scriptwriting and production skills for audio-visual content and radio dramas, particularly in agricultural topics;
4. Own or have access to high-quality, reliable photography and videography equipment and tools necessary for comprehensive coverage of the assignment;
5. Expertise in audio-visual concept and content creation;
6. Strong understanding of the local context and cultural norms.